Bittersweet
by Delfhin
Summary: For all of his life, Maeda Sousuke has served his siblings, despite the fact that all of them have the same blood flowing through their body. The only thing that made him different was that he was not born with two X chromosomes. (More info inside)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything except for my own characters.

**A/N**: This is my first story so please be nice :) My English is not the best so there might be some mistakes. This is not going to be an incredibly fast-paced story, and I'm not going to rush this to catch up with the anime story-line. (I've watched the anime only.) Proverbs will be added instead of titles.

Please rest assured, the rests of the Ouran Highschool Host Club will definitely be in this story. I needed to flesh out a few things about my OC, Takashi, Mitsukuni and a few other members to make things flow better than simply putting my OC in high school.

**Description of this story**: The birth of Maeda Sousuke was a blasphemy done by his mother. Under the traditions and rules of the Maeda Family, he should have been aborted before his birth but Haruka-sama, the Head of Maeda Family, refuses to do so and allowed Sousuke to live.

All his life Sousuke has served his siblings and the elders in the main house. Living was a foreign concept to him until he met Takashi, who brought a whole new world into his life.

All his life, Takashi knew that Mitsukuni must be that first priority. Friends were a foreign word on his tongue until he met Sousuke, who broke through his walls and brought a best friend into his life.

Their friendship brought each other joy and experiences that were once foreign to them but… Takashi wondered, would it have been different if he had not met Sousuke? Would it have prevented the heartache and regrets that haunted him for years?

* * *

Chapter 01

_"Life is a flame that is always burning itself out, but it catches fire again every time a child is born" - George Bernard Shaw_

* * *

A tall black-haired young man in his mid-twenties sat on a typical plastic chair in a hospital room. His long fringe fell and obscured his vision when he tilted his head down. An audible sigh left his mouth as he swiped it behind his ears.

"How many times are you going to do that?" An amused voice tickled his ears and as expected, he straightened his back at that voice. He threw that book beside him before setting his worried blue eyes at a heavily pregnant woman on the hospital bed.

Black long hair flowed down over her shoulders as she laid on the inclined bed. Despite the heaviness on her stomach, she laid majestically on the bed like a lioness waiting at its den. Her amused brown eyes stared at him.

"It's about time." She whispered as she caressed her stomach lovingly.

He stood up from the chair and dragged himself towards her. He rubbed his trembling hands together and took a few deep breaths. The slumped shoulders and hunched back tugged her heart but she refused to give in.

"Haruka-sama, are you ready?" He choked out those words as he bowed towards her before taking a seat beside her bed.

Haruka gave a dismissive wave of her hand, clenched her fist on the blanket and nodded her head. She then lifted her chin towards him and smirked. "Sou, don't forget our bet."

Sou pinched the bridge of his nose and massaged his temples from the impending headache he was about to receive. "Haruka-sama I - "

The sliding of doors behind him interrupted his words, and a feminine clinical voice filled the room. "Maeda Haruka-sama? The doctors will be here soon. All guests are to leave this room until the labour is over."

Before anyone could do anything, the nurse slid the door back and left hastily to her next patient. Sou slouched even further and placed his hands on her fist before massaging his temples again. He clenched his eyes and whispered.

"Haruka-sama, if the elders were to know about this…"

Haruka lifted her hand to stop him from going further and shrugged her shoulders. She smirked even wider. "I am the Head of this Family, and my words are absolute. You should know this better than anyone."

The underlying threat in her voice caused Sou to straightened his back. He twirled his long fringe and swallowed nervously. "Of course. Haruka-sama."

Haruka stared at Sou when she heard the resignation in his voice. The teary worried blue eyes tugged her heart once more. A sigh left her mouth, and she placed her hands on his shoulder.

"Sou. No - " She shook her head and addressed him in a way that will have her titles stripped and beheaded if the elders were to hear about this.

"Nii-san. There is no other way."

Sou took a deep breath, placed his head on his hands and sniffed. "It's… been years since you called me that." He wiped his tears, and the determination in his eyes satisfied her.

"I'll leave him in your care. Remember, 14 years from now."

Sou bowed again in response and left the room. Haruka looked out of the window at the colorful skies and smiled. She caressed her stomach lovingly with trembling hands before a tear slipped from her eyes.

For once, Haruka lowered her guard down and wept for the pain her child will go through. "-ousuke. Forgive me." She wiped her tears when the nurse came back with the doctors and a long 8 hours labour began.

.

.

.

.

.

"It-it's a boy!"

* * *

_**Next**: Sousuke paused and gaped at his Uncle. "Training session!? Why wasn't I aware of it?" He then snatched the paper out of Haruhi's hand and glanced through it…_


	2. Chapter 2 - 1

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything except for my own characters.

**A/N**: I've updated chapter 1 - Added in the full description of this story. Please do read that before continuing on! I've separated chapter 2 into parts because it was getting too long.

* * *

Chapter 02.

_"Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future" - Fulton Oursler_

* * *

A young teenager laid on a bed in a room with nothing but a few boxes on the weathered wooden floor. His sharp brown eyes darted left to right on a novel he held in his hands above his face. 'Hoo… are they going to discover Naru's identity?'

Rapid loud knocks on the door broke him out of his world. He clicked his tongue in frustration, glared at the door and yelled. "Sou-ji-sama!" For a moment, he relished in the silence that came afterward and was about to read the next sentence of the novel but a muffled baritone voice stopped him from doing so.

"Sousuke! I know you are reading that novel and are not decent right now. I will give you 10 more minutes, but if you are not out by then…"

Sousuke sat up alarmed, straightened his back and glanced at the door with narrowed eyes. He then stood up and scanned the door for any discrepancies such as a _hidden camera_.

"And no! There are no cameras in this room! Please hurry up!"

Sousuke stared at the door until the sound of footsteps grew softer. He clicked his tongue again before tossing the novel in irritation aside on the bed. He took a quick glance at himself with only a boxer on. 'Heh. This would have been made a show if anyone came in.'

He grabbed a hand mirror from the closest box beside the bed and tried to maintain his messy black hair. After a few minutes of swiping his hair to no avail, he threw the mirror back into the box and sighed in annoyance. He limped slightly towards another box and stuffed his novel in before grabbing a few clothing from the ground to clothe himself. As he bent over to clothe himself, a long, jagged scar decorated his right calf and a glimpse of a red tattoo could be seen on his upper thigh.

.

.

.

.

Sou heaved in exhaustion as he lifted the last box into the back of a red van. He wiped any sweat away on his hand and yelled at the teenager who was walking really really slowly towards him. "Sousuke! Hurry up or I'm leaving you here!".

He sat on the driver's seat and started the engine. He was so focused on putting his keys and phone on covered storage that he missed the closing of a door to his left. Therefore, he was not expecting anyone to be beside him.

"Boo!" A soft breath tickled his left ears and Sou shrieked. He was startled so bad that he almost pierced through the van's ceiling.

"Sousuke!" Sou shouted in embarrassment. He will never admit that he had just screamed like a girl.

"Heh." Sousuke's eyes were twinkling with mirth and slapped a hand over his mouth to muffle any laughter. "Oji-sama, you suck. Are you sure we will get there safely?"

Sou grunted indignantly. "Brat! And stop using -sama on me." He stepped on a pedal to drive forward. "Buckle up! We are leaving now."

Sousuke hummed in response. He turned on the radio and started bobbing his head up and down to the beats of the music. Soon, the rumbling engine and the motion of bobbing lulled him to sleep.

Dark clouds loomed over the area, a stark contrast to what it was before. Sou glanced at Sousuke to make sure he was really asleep before fumbling for his phone and dialed a familiar number. It took awhile, and Sou tapped on the wheel impatiently, waiting for the person to pick up. It felt like an eternity when a clicked sound was heard and a sigh left his mouth.

"Haruka-sama, we have left the house." Sou nodded at the muffled feminine voice over the phone. At the sight of green light, he stepped on the pedal and continued driving without hesitation. The same muffled voice was heard, and it broke his concentration that he drove to a rest stop.

His wrinkles crinkled with a frown and a bead of sweat fell from his forehead. He glanced at Sousuke again before responding. "Hai… I will make sure of it." He whispered and left his phone on the seat. He got out of the van and hopped quickly to the rest stop convenience store to avoid any incoming droplets from the sky.

The moment Sou left the van to buy some food. Sousuke snapped his eyes opened and glared at the phone. "Like I said. Oji-sama, you suck." He took a few deep breaths and wiped away any tears that threatened to fall with trembling hands. The scar on his right calf started to throb and the lingering burning sensation on his back became stronger.

_"Go on. Use this knife and kill yourself. I dare you."_ He traced the thin, long horizontal scar on his throat. He shut his eyes, slammed his head back on his seat and willed himself to sleep when he spotted Sou coming out of the store.

Sou dashed out of the store with one bag filled with rice balls and a bottle of green tea. He opened the door and jumped in quickly to prevent any more droplets to rest on him. He tried to place the plastic bag down as gentle as possible but alas, a loud crackling plastic sound echoed through the van.

It was the most terrifying moment of Sou's life when Sousuke stirred and shifted in his position. After all, waking Sousuke up abruptly has always resulted in a bruised eye. He heaved a sigh of relieved when Sousuke showed no signs of waking up.

Sou stuffed the rice ball in his mouth, stepped on the pedal and continued driving. 'Tokyo… 3 more hours before we get there.'

.

.

.

.

Beep. Beep. Sou parked the van in front of a two-story house. The yellowish-grey paint ran through the entire house with a dark grey roof. This house is attached to another similar looking house at the end.

Sou looked over at the still-sleeping Sousuke, and flicked his ears before dodging a fist that came his way. "Sousuke! We are here!"

"Hmm…?" Sousuke rubbed his tired eyes and blinked as his eyes adjusted to the new unfamiliar surroundings. "Where?" He darted his eyes left and right to absorb as much information as he could.

"We are here, at the new house." Sou chuckled at the lost expression on his nephew's face. It was rare to see such an expression on his face.

Sousuke glared at his uncle. "You should have woken me up when we were-" Sou cut him off by lifting his hand up. "We are here. The hosts are not here yet. Let's go in first and we can talk more inside."

Ping. Sou took a keycard from his pocket, unlocked the door and stepped into the genkan. Both of them removed their outside shoes and switched to in-house slippers. "Go ahead and have a quick tour of the house. I will be waiting at the dining room." Sou took a briefcase and walked into the room at their right side.

Sousuke looked around the house with sparkling eyes. The pastel beige paint on the wall brought back some familiar memories of his old place. It was like a melody with the creaking sounds played from the wooden floor by his feet. He started to slide around on the long hallway from the genkan to the living room on the first floor.

Sou placed the briefcase on the dining table. It was a decent sized kitchen with appliances and a dining table with four chairs. Rays of light from the sun shone on the beautifully patterned tiles that donned the walls of this room. The sliding sounds from the hallways lifted the corners of his lips.

"Sousuke!" Sou raised his voice as he prepared some tea for them.

Sousuke slid to the first room of the house, near the genkan where the voice came from. He slid opened the door and sat down in front of his uncle. "Hai, Oji-sama?"

Sou handed a cup of tea to Sousuke. "The host family will be coming soon. Are you ready?"

"Arigatou." Sousuke took the cup of tea with trembling hands, tilted his head and crossed his arms. "Sou-ji-sama, are they… kind?"

Sou looked up from a set of paperwork he took out from the briefcase and stared at the slight frown on Sousuke's brows. He smiled gently. "They will be living in their apartment, but they will come over every weekend and holidays to check on you so please be decent when they are over."

A ticked formed on Sousuke's forehead. "It's nice to know that I'll be alone regularly, but you haven't answered my question."

Sou chuckled softly at that. "They are a pair of father and daughter. In fact, the daughter is the same age as you. Fujioka-san lost his wife 10 years ago and since then, they have lived in a small apartment. Both of them are kind, well… Fujioka-san is very cheerful while Fujioka-chan is very studious."

Sousuke hummed at that and sipped his tea. "What are they getting out of this?"

"Maa… It's not something you have to worry about." Sou sipped his tea afterward and almost puked it out at the expression Sousuke was making.

Double ticked formed on Sousuke's forehead, he used his hands to drag down his face and stuck his tongue out at his uncle. "Soouuu-ooooji-saammaa"

Some tea went down the wrong pipe immediately, and Sou banged his own chest to calm the coughing fit that exploded out of his mouth. "Sosuke!"

"What's wrong oooooji-saamma? You must be old, please give me all of yoourrr wisdom before you passed away." Sousuke taunted his uncle while doing that ridiculous facial expression with his hands.

Several ticked formed on Sou's forehead before he yelled. "Alright alright! Stop with that ridiculous act." He drank the rest of the tea and sighed.

"Fujioka-san wife, Katayama Kotoko-san was a very very distant relative of the Maeda's house but when we found out about it… she has already passed away. What do you think will happen next?"

Sousuke crossed his arms at the name, Maeda, and frowned. "They… would have taken Fujioka-chan, isn't it?"

"Ding dong. That's right. Fujioka-san begged us to let Fujioka-chan go, therefore -" Sou took a good look at Sousuke before continuing on "- Haruka-sama, Chika-sama and Hanae-sama agreed to let the Fujioka's go if they agree to take care of you."

As usual, Sosuke's poker face gave nothing away other than a twitch of his finger at the mention of those names. "... and why would they ask them of this?"

Sou pinched the bridge of his nose, and a sigh left his mouth. "Sousuke they are still - " SLAM. Sousuke stood up hastily and whispered harshly. "Stop it."

"Sit down." Sou barked and sighed. "Other than that, all the mortgage and debts were all paid off on the day they agreed to take care of you. Of course, Fujioka-san refused to accept our help but Haruka-sama insisted they accept it."

Sousuke sat down immediately when his uncle yelled. He clenched his fist and refused to let those names affect him.

"Sousuke. Please behave yourself. This is your only chance." Sou whispered desperately for his heart to be connected with his nephew.

Sousuke gave no indication that he heard him and simply crossed his arms. "Sousu -" The doorbell cut through any words Sou wanted to add.

"They are here. Follow me and please be decent." Sou stood up and led the way to the entrance with Sousuke behind him.

.

.

.

.

"Otou-san, are you ready?" A soft monotonous feminine voice echoed through the small apartment as a door was slid open. It was a disaster in sight; wigs were thrown on the ground and many makeup products were a mess on the floor.

"Ah, Haruhi ~ Give me a few more minutes." A chirpy voice came from a male sitting awkwardly in front of a mirror, combing his short brown hair with his hands.

Haruhi placed her hands on her hips when she saw the mess her father has made. "Mou! Otou-san, it has been 30 minutes!" A few long brown strands of hair came into view when she tilted her head down and she swiped it behind her shoulders and ears.

The male stood up, put his hands together and jutted his lips out. "Haruhi! A few more minutes. I need to look my best today!" He opened his teary eyes bigger to defend himself. He would have continued whining if he had not seen what his daughter was wearing.

"Ahh! Haruhi! What are you wearing!?" He gaped and pointed at the cargo brown pants and pastel green shirt his cute Haruhi was wearing.

"Otou-san! We are just going over to meet Sousuke-san and live there for 2 days!" Haruhi sighed. "Please be done in 5 minutes or I am leaving without you!" She then closed the door and ignored the usual antics of her father.

"B-b-but! Haruhi! Where is my cute Haruhi!" Comical tears started falling out of his eyes as he bit a cloth in frustration.

.

.

.

.

Click. Sou unlocked the main door and opened it. "Konnichiwa Fujioka-san and Fujioka-chan. Please come in."

"Sou-san! Just call me Ryoji ~ It's more convenient this way." A light-brown haired male who is about half-a-head shorter than his uncle stepped into the genkan. Behind him was a girl twirling with her hair and Ryoji turned to her.

"Ah, this is Haruhi. My beautiful daughter ~" The man, Ryoji, was extremely animated and started to boast about his daughter. Both adults started to exchange pleasantries and embarrassing stories of each child.

Sousuke peeked at his _soon-to-be_ host family from his Uncle's shoulders. 'Hmm… Fujioka-san or was it Ryoji-san… is weird.' He stared at the extremely animated and cheerful man who was sharing a bedwetting incident of his daughter to his uncle.

"Otou-san!" Haruhi shouted in embarrassment when she heard where the conversation was going.

"Pff- cough cough!" Sousuke covered his mouth and disguised his laughter as a coughing fit when he saw the deadpanned expression Haruhi was giving her father.

"Saa… shall we move to the dining room?" Sou smiled in delight at the positive reaction his nephew was giving to Ryoji and Haruhi.

"Sousuke, please prepare some tea." Sou requested as he took out some documents and placed it towards Ryoji-san who was sitting opposite of him.

Sousuke came back and passed a cup of tea to everyone before sitting down on an empty chair, beside his uncle and opposite of Haruhi.

Clack. Sou placed down three black cards on the table. "These are the keys to this house. The Maeda's Family upgraded the security of this house hence the keys are in this form. There are some cameras that have been installed around the house so do not be alarmed when you see it."

Sousuke took a sip of his tea and glanced at Haruhi who was paying attention to his uncle. His fingers twitched at the word, cameras. 'Heh. Security my ass.' He quickly looked away when Haruhi made eye contact with him.

"Sou-san, which school will Sousuke-san be attending?" Haruhi spoke and sipped her tea.

Sou smiled at her. "I'm glad you asked. Sousuke will be attending Ouran Academy, in the Middle School division. Before I forget -" He took out another piece of paper and placed it on the table. "- Sousuke is required to be home during special occasion such as the New Years or if there is a need for him to be back. We will inform both of you when he needs to be back, so this house will be empty and both of you are allowed to use it as you pleased."

Haruhi gasped at the school name. "Wow… isn't Ouran a school for the extremely privileged and the education is the best of the bests?"

"Hai. They offer a full scholarship to one Japanese student each year. I heard that you are very diligent in your studies perhaps you can aim for it? Of course, if Ryoji-san is willing." Sou nodded towards Ryoji.

Ryoji nodded furiously and smiled dreamily. "My Haruhi is already aiming for that. Kyaa, she wants to follow Kotoko's footsteps ~ Isn't my daughter the best? She has always been this -"

"Cough!" Sousuke reacted, unwillingly to let the conversation go awry. He pointed at the paper hoping to distract Haruhi's father from going further. "Oji-sama, what's that paper for?"

"Ah. This contains your timetable of this month. That -" Sou pointed to the set of papers he passed to Ryoji. "- contains the rules and regulations you must follow while living in this house."

Sousuke drawled out a sigh to express his displeasure. "Hey! Oji-sama, stop it!" Sousuke grabbed his Uncle's hands that were ruffling his hair.

Ryoji leaned towards Haruhi and whispered. "Sousuke is a cute boy. What do you think?" He wriggled his eyebrows.

"Otou-san." Haruhi glared.

Ryoji put up his hands to placate his daughter. "I'm just joking…"

"Oji-sama! I spent _hours_ fixing my hair just now!" Sousuke covered his head with his hands for protection and glared at his Uncle.

Sou laughed. "By _hours_, you meant minutes?" He lifted one eyebrow at his nephew.

Haruhi took a look at the paper with Sousuke's timetable. "Hmm? Training session at Haninozuka's house? What is that?"

Sousuke paused and gaped at his Uncle. "Training session!? Why wasn't I aware of it?" He then snatched the paper out of Haruhi's hand and glanced through it.

"Hey! Have more manners!" Sou barked.

"It's fine. It's refreshing to see such a wild attitude from a teenager. Kyaaa, I miss those days ~" Ryoji spoke and started twirling around on his seat.

"Haah…" Sou sweatdropped.

"Don't worry about him. Once he gets into that mood, nobody can snap him out of it." Haruhi shrugged her shoulders and glanced at the set of papers that was on the table.

Meanwhile, Sousuke grabbed the paper and his eyes darted left and right, already memorizing all the information on it. He pinpointed today's day and looked through the activities planned.

_Friday_

_School Period (8.30am - 3.30pm)_

_[Blank] (4pm-6pm)_

_Training Haninozuka's House (7pm-10pm)_

"Blank?" Sousuke looked at his Uncle.

Sou placed a fist on his other hand. "Ah right! I forgot about it. You are required to join 2 after school activities."

"Whaaat? Why?" Sousuke could not believe it. 'I wanted to spend my free time reading novels!'

"Saa… Haruka-sama requested you to do so." Sou sipped his tea and shrugged his shoulders.

Ryoji perked up at that name. "Haruka-sama…?" He put a finger on his chin. "She's the current Head of the Maeda's family right?"

"Hai. That's right." Sou took out a file from the briefcase and passed it to Ryoji.

"Is that?" Ryoji whispered with sparkling eyes.

Sou nodded. "Hai. That is the official documents."

Ryoji was so tempted to make sure of the authenticity of the documents in the file but withheld himself from doing so. "Thank you, I will -" Sharp intake of breath from his left halted him.

Sou, Sousuke, and Ryoji looked over at Haruhi, where the noise came from. She continued to stare at those papers with jaws wide opened.

"Haruhi-san, is there something wrong?" Sousuke gulped as he took the first step to initiate a conversation with _her_.

Haruhi pointed at those documents with great urgency. "Sou-san! All I'm reading from here are a list of chores Sousuke-san must do and things he should not do. What about us?" She looked at her father and back at Sou.

Sou smiled with resignation before it disappeared quickly, though Ryoji caught it. "That's right. Sousuke will be required to do all of the necessary chores to keep those house clean and ensure that all meals are served during the time when both of you are here."

Ryoji frowned. "Wait? Isn't that's our job? How can a teenager be given such responsibilities?"

Sou smirked. "Don't worry Ryoji-san. Sousuke is more than capable of doing so."

"I'm not worried about that but !" Ryoji protested. Haruhi simply stared in shock at the rare sight of her father arguing with someone.

"Enough." Sou barked. "Both of you will be here to watch over him, to make sure that all chores are finished with the expected results and to ensure that he is still alive at the end of each week. Nothing more and nothing less."

Haruhi frowned and crossed her arms. "That's it? Are we allowed to help Sousuke-san in anything?"

"No. Both of you are expected to give a verbal and a written report at the end of each month to me and a person from the main house. Both of you are not allowed to help Sousuke in anything." Sou finished sternly.

"Even if he's sick?" Ryoji glanced at Sousuke in concern.

"Hai. Even if he's sick. He must do all of that **alone**." Sou closed his eyes and finished his tea.

Ryoji gripped the cup tightly in his hands. "Then what's the point of us being a host family to him?"

Sou sighed. "Even though all chores have to be done by Sousuke and nobody else is allowed to be invited over by him…" He looked at Haruhi, "You are smart. I am sure you will be able to find ways to go around the rules stated."

Ryoji looked at the said person. "Sousuke-kun, can Haruhi and I call you that?

Sousuke clenched his hands and nodded.

"Then please call me Haruhi-chan. I don't mind." Haruhi smiled gently at Sousuke.

Ryoji laced his hands together. "Sousuke-kun, are you fine with all those rules and regulations? It is your life after all."

Sousuke nodded hesitantly. "Hai. I am alright with it." He confirmed confidently when his Uncle gave him the look.

Sou concluded. "Okay, it's almost 4pm. Let's carry all the boxes in first. Sousuke, please prepare for the training session later." He glanced at his nephew.

"Ehhh? We are starting today?" Sousuke complained in disbelief.

"Hai. You are." Sou covered his lips in amusement.

"Meanie."

.

.

.

.

It felt like deja vu when Sou heaved in exhaustion, placing the last box on the floor beside the stairs. He stood up and stretched his back when the sounds of footsteps caught his attention. "Sousuke! Stop running down the stairs!"

Sousuke flew down the stairs just as his Uncle said that. "Oops..?" He smiled sheepishly. He carried the last box and slowly went up the stairs in an exaggerated movement before sticking his tongue out at his Uncle.

"Brat." Sou huffed in exasperation.

Ryoji poked his head out of the kitchen with a spatula on one hand. "Sou-san… Is his leg alright?"

Sou sighed. "Hai. It's mostly psychosomatic. He can run for a long period of time but intense stress on his leg will…" He drifted off when Haruhi came down the stairs.

"Otou-san, I've finished setting up our bedrooms." Haruhi said softly. "Do you need any help with the snacks?" She peeked into the kitchen.

Her father shook his head. "No need. Haruhi, go and spend time with Sousuke-kun ~" He then twirled around again in his own mind theatre. "Kyaa ~ So romantic ~"

Haruhi put her head in her hands. "Sou-san… I'm sorry for my father."

Sou chuckled in mirth. "It's fine."

A large thud from above caught all of their attention and Haruhi prepared to run upstairs when a muffled voice shouted, halting her in running. "Don't come up! I'm fine!"

She turned to Sou for directions and Sou lifted his chin upwards in amusement. "Go on." She nodded and ran upstairs.

Sou took this chance and went into the kitchen. Ryoji was flying around the kitchen, preparing snacks for all of them. He stared at Ryoji for a good while and looked away immediately when Ryoji turned around.

"Sou-san? Is there something wrong?" Ryoji turned around with a kettle on hand and hummed.

Sou grabbed a rice cracker and sat down. "I thought you might have more questions for me."

Ryoji's animated expression died down immediately. He placed down the kettle, turned off the fire and sat down at the table. "I know… I do not know much about the Maeda Family, but why is Sousuke-kun living alone and now that I have the papers, does that mean Haruhi will be left alone?"

Sou rested his chin on his fist and took a bite of the rice cracker. "We cannot tell you much. All I can say that Sousuke's situation is unusual and special from the rest of the members. Hai, the Fujioka Family will no longer be part of the Maeda Family but it would be a different matter if Haruhi-chan falls in love with a Maeda's male."

Ryoji sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why must things be so complicated?"

"Don't worry so much. Continue to live your life as normal and look after Sousuke until he graduates from High School." Sou smiled bitterly. 'That's right… until he graduates from High School.'

.

.

.

.

Haruhi ran up the stairs to check on Sousuke. She panted and ran to where the sound came from. 'Ah, it's from Sousuke-kun's room.' All of them have decided that Haruhi and her father will share the master bedroom while Sousuke will sleep in one of the bedrooms across the master bedroom and the last one to be kept as a guest bedroom.

Haruhi cleared her throat in front of the wooden door and knocked. "Sousuke-kun, can I come in?"

Another thud was heard before a muffled voice yelled. "Wa-wait!" Another rustling sound was heard from the door before Sousuke opened the door. "Hai?"

Haruhi raised one of her eyebrows at his flustered appearance. "Do you need any help?"

Sousuke rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe…?" He pushed the door wider for Haruhi to come in.

Haruhi stared in awe at all the books stacked on the floor with alphabetical order, and what she assumed to be, in each series order too. "Wow…"

The awe from Haruhi lifted the corners of his lips. He then rubbed the back of his head again. "As you can see, I am organizing all these books. Some I've placed it on the shelf but the rest are still…"

The still-in-awe Haruhi took a quick glance around and noticed some of the books were in different languages. "Can I help you with it?" She smiled at Sousuke.

Sousuke nodded hesitantly. "Then… can you help me to unpack the books from that box?" He pointed the one that was beside his bed and the furthest one from him.

Haruhi tilted her head in mild confusion at that but said nothing. "Sure, I can help with that."

.

.

.

.

The sharp whistling from the kettle broke through the solemn atmosphere. Ryoji jumped out of his seat to remove the kettle and prepared more tea to go with the snacks.

Sou smiled at the snacks and tea prepared. He turned towards the door and yelled. "Haruhi-chan! Sousuke! The snacks are ready!"

Ryoji laid out all the snacks and tea for each individual and smiled when the sounds of footsteps grew louder.

A sweaty Sousuke came running into the kitchen followed by Haruhi who walked in calmly. Both of them sat down and grabbed the snacks.

Sou chuckled at the sight and checked the time. "It is going to be 6pm soon. Please finish your snacks by 6pm, and we are leaving straight away." He looked at Sousuke who are now nibbling on the rice crackers and gobbling down his tea.

Haruhi tilted her head at that and nibbled on her own rice crackers. "Speaking of that, why is Sousuke-kun going for training and who is the Haninozuka family?"

Sou lifted his cup to his lips when he halted in shock at the question. He glared at Ryoji. "You really didn't explain anything to her?"

Ryoji quickly stuffed his rice crackers into his mouth. "I donmt knowm whatm you're -crunch- talkingm abmmm."

"Otou-san! Manners! Manners!" Haruhi shouted in exasperation.

Sou sighed and massaged his temples. "Before I answer your questions, what do you know of the Maeda family?" He looked at Haruhi.

Haruhi put a finger on her chin. "I know that the Maeda family is incredibly rich, the top of the cream. Okaa-san was somehow related to them but by the time they found out, Okaa-san ha-has passed away." Her voice hitched at the end.

"That's it?" Sou could not believe it. He glared at Ryoji and pointed furiously. "You!"

Ryoji continued to stuff his mouth full of rice crackers. "Blaamm blaamm I donmm knowmm anythingmmm - crunch -." He quickly looked away when Sou glared even more at him.

Haruhi sighed and mumbled in resignation. "Otou-san, manners. Manners!"

Sou pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sousuke, please answer Haruhi-chan for me."

Sousuke drank his tea to push down the crackers he was stuffing into his mouth earlier. He cleared his throat. "Let's see… The Maeda family started back from the Heian-Period and were practitioners of numerous Martial Art skills. All of the Maeda's members excel in Martial Arts and a few other specialized areas. The Maeda family is one of the major investors and stockholders of many companies too."

Haruhi's jaw dropped at that. "Wow… From the Heian Period?" She could hardly put her mind onto it.

Sou smiled at that. "It's not just that. Back then, several members of the Maeda were warriors under the Emperor. We retreated when the power of the Emperor declined and hid away during the period of civil war. Since then, we have invented our own ways of Martial Art, expanded our skills to Computing and more."

"The Haninozuka family have excelled in Martial Arts for generations and most of them are Martial Arts champions. We met them a few decades ago and they agreed to take in 1 person per generation for training and vice versa." Sousuke nibbled on his rice crackers and continued in a monotonous voice.

Haruhi's view of Sousuke moved up higher. Her eyebrows disappeared up to her fringe. "And that 1 person is Sousuke-kun?"

Sou nodded.

"Wow… you must have impressed them." Haruhi started in awe at Sousuke. 'He must be really good at martial arts to catch their attention.'

Sousuke shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows."

Ryoji finally swallowed all the rice crackers in his mouth and cleared his throat. "It's a minute after 6pm… Both of you don't need to go?" He smiled cheekily.

Sou cried out in shock and checked the time. "Sousuke! I'll be in the van! Meet me there when you're done.!" He then ran out of the kitchen leaving a trail of dust behind him.

Sousuke placed his cup in the sink and ran out in the same manner as Sou.

"Pfft!" Ryoji covered his mouth with two hands to stop any laughter from bubbling out.

Haruhi was trying so hard not to laugh that her lips were twitching. "Otou-san, that was mean."

Ryoji pointed at her indignantly. "What do you mean? You're the one who was distracting them!" He tried to be firm but failed when his lips kept on twitching.

Both of them burst out in laughter, and it echoed throughout the whole house.

On the table was an innocent clock whose time was turned 10 minutes faster than what it should have been.

.

.

* * *

_**Next**: "Takashi... it's been a while."..._**  
**.

.

0.1 Version: 25/03/2019

0.2 Version: 01/04/2019

**A/N**: I write on google docs but when I copy over, all the formatting are messed up T_T Does anyone knows what should I do to make it stay?

It is not my intention to offend anyone who are a history lover. :) I apologise for any discrepancies before hand. I tried my best to research about Japan's history in order to incorporate into this story.

The name of Sou and Sousuke are very similar so I might mix them up by accident. The Uncle is Maeda Sou and the teenager is Maeda Sousuke.

There's a reason behind it. I won't share it yet but Sousuke was given this name due to some sentimental reasons by his mother.

On a side note. I'm pretty confused at the ages of each Ouran characters so I will just give them the ages I think it's correct. In this story right now, these are their ages.

Yasuchika, Satoshi - 12 (6th year in Grade School)

Sousuke, Haruhi, Hikaru and Kaoru - 14 (2nd year in Middle School)

Tamaki, Kyoya - 15 (3rd year in Middle School)

Mitsukuni, Takashi - 16 (1st year in High School)

.

Okaa-san : Mother

Otou-san : Father

Oji-san : Uncle

Hai : Yes


End file.
